The Turkish chef, whose real name is Nusret Gokce, earned the ire of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) after he shared video online that shows him waiting on and hugging Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at a restaurant in Istanbul.

“I don’t know who this #Saltbae is, but the guy he is so proud to host is not the President of Venezuela,” Rubio tweeted. “He is actually the overweight dictator of a nation where 30% of the people eat only once a day and infants are suffering from malnutrition.”

Gokce became an internet sensation last year after a clip that sees him seasoning his meats with a dramatic flair went wildly viral. Social media dubbed him the Salt Bae, and he currently boasts some 15.7 million followers on Instagram as well as a $1.5 billion restaurant empire, that spans several continents.

Videos of his evening with Maduro and a ‘thank you’ to the Venezuela leader have since been wiped from Salt Bae’s social media pages. In the clips, downloaded by the Miami Herald prior to their deletion, the internet-famous chef can be seen cutting into lamb chops with his signature style.

Maduro is all smiles as puffs a cigar and watches Gokce put the finishing touches on his meal.

“Look how he salts it!” someone off camera says.

Gokce also gifted Maduro a t-shirt with his face on it before embracing the foreign leader.

Maduro has been widely criticized for his leadership in Venezuela, where a raging economic crisis has left many residents starving. Nearly two-thirds of Venezuelans said they lost an average of 25 pounds in body weight due to the food shortage, according to a recent survey. And 20.5% — or the equivalent of about 6 million people — said they would leave the country should Maduro remain in power.